Residency Program

Dear Resident Applicant

Welcome to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency here at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine! It is my distinct honor to serve as the Residency Program Director for the inspiring group of resident physicians we have in Tampa, Florida. Our residency has a strong reputation in the region with a long history of commitment to excellence in resident training in obstetrics and gynecology.

Tampa Bay (Tampa and the surrounding beach communities) hosts a population of over four million people, providing our residency with a large, diverse patient population that is well balanced. This impressive patient volume is ideal, not only for resident education, but also for conducting the type of nationally generalizable and well-powered research for which our department is known. Perhaps this is part of the reason why USF is one of the top ten fastest growing research universities in the country!

Our residency has full, continued accreditation with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) through 2019, and we are constantly re-evaluating our quality measures and strive daily to deliver a well-organized, responsive, educational program that meets the needs of our learners. The stability and success we’ve enjoyed is also largely due to the residents themselves. We have twenty residents, five per class, who exhibit the kind of character and scholarship required to achieve our goals. Our application process takes into account United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, previous research activity, letters of recommendation, community activities, and overall academic performance with accompanying dean’s letters. We accept applications from graduates of osteopathic schools provided they have taken the USMLE steps 1 and 2.

The USF Ob/Gyn residency is special for many reasons. Our faculty members are talented innovators who come from all parts of the globe. The residents participate in a structured, unique Journal Club experience during our protected academic time. Moreover, our Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences truly provide the best of both worlds, in that, we offer both a traditional American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) Board style M&M with open questions from the faculty as well as a more structured style that focuses on individual cases with literature review and root cause analysis. USF offers an adolescent clinic experience, a dedicated ultrasound rotation, and research elective time based on merit and initiative. None of these offerings are explicitly required by ACGME, but are educational experiences we feel are important in developing the best possible Ob/Gyn’s. In addition, we provide full financial support for residents to attend national conferences if they are presenting research.

We have established a culture of excellence in training residents to achieve their full potential in all areas that affects Ob/Gyn’s today. We have consistently had resident representation in leadership positions within the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Our graduating class from 2014 was the most successful fellowship placement in recent history, with two chief residents matching in Gynecologic Oncology and one in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (after serving as a Gelhaus fellow in Washington D.C. during her chief year). Our goal as a residency is to create the most complete physician leaders that we possibly can, and our recent success is evidence of that.

It’s a very exciting time to be at the University of South Florida! Tampa is a beautiful, vibrant city with award winning beach communities only a short drive away. If you are looking for an outstanding, comprehensive residency training experience, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

James M. Palmer, MD, MS
Residency Program Director
Assistant Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine